Lufthansa Group flight crew reaffirm industrial action threat

Flight crew at Lufthansa’s LCC subsidiary Germanwings have announced plans for industrial action ahead of a new round of talks over the airline’s early retirement scheme.

The flight crew at Germanwings want the current scheme to be retained, which allows them to retire early at age 55 but still keep some of their pay until they reach the age at which state pension payments start.

Lufthansa and flight crew union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) are due to return to the negotiating table later on Thursday. According to Vereinigung Cockpit, if talks fail to lead to an agreement, pilots at Germanwings will go on strike for six hours, starting from 0400 GMT on Friday.

Around 700 of the Lufthansa Group’s 9,000 pilots are employed at Germanwings.

In April, Lufthansa flight crew held a three-day strike which grounded almost all the airline’s flights, costing it up to €60 million ($79 million) in lost revenue and contributing to the airline’s subsequent profit warning.